The Wildest Heart
by ThePhantomsChristineDaae
Summary: This story is about a young telepath struggling to control her powers in a world that both hates and fears her. To top it all off, she must choose between a life of crime and a man who loves her or a life of good and people who can help her control her po
1. Stranger In The Night

**DISCLAIMER: I own none of the official Marvel characters but I do own Marlena. If some characters seem well… out of character, it's just to make the scene more entertaining. I'm not making any money out of this, though I could definitely use it…. o.O **

Marlena huddled in a lonely alleyway in front of a rotting pile of garbage. Her feet were bare and she wore a pair of baggy, torn black pants and a white t-shirt that was two sizes too big for her. All she had to keep her warm was a thin, navy blue hoodie wrapped tightly around her well-figured body. Her hands were clasped to her ears, desperate to block out the unceasing voices of people she didn't know.

_Look at him, drinking his beer and staring at the TV. I wish that he…_

_I hate her! She never lets me do anything…I'm sixteen! I just want to go out and…_

_She looks like an angel when she sleeps. She's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen…_

She squeezed her eyes shut, curling into a tight ball as she pressed the heels of her hands painfully against her eyes. There were so many voices that she could hardly focus on just one, all of them mixing together and creating an unbearable headache for Marlena. She opened her eyes to see the alley before her blurred while fuzzy white dots danced across her vision.

"He went this way!" Marlena cringed, the sudden loud shout close to the alley jarring her head.

She sat up straight, looking from side to side in quick, jerky motions. No one seemed to be coming down the alley, until some one jumped or fell from above into the pile of garbage she was sitting in front of. She screamed as she saw a green tinted finger and face peek out to tell her to be quiet.

_If she gives me away… I swear I'll kill 'er!_

Her hands once again pressed tightly to her ears as she clumsily settled once again in front of the garbage, trusting this new voice to be able to carry out what it said. She had very little time to consider this as four tough looking teenagers rushed hotly into the alley.

"Did you see anyone?" The tallest boy asked her, stabbing forward to grab the neck of her jacket. _Filthy piece of garbage… _She cried out, holding her eyes shut and struggling forcefully as four new voices entered her head. "I said… Did you see anyone!"

"N-No!" She shouted, struggling hard to free herself. He was much stronger then her and showed no signs of letting her go. She gripped hard to his wrists and with out warning went completely limp, almost draggin her assailant down with her.

"You little rat!" He yelled, throwing her harshly into the arms of a portly but strong mexican boy. "We can't find the freak, but at least we can have some fun with this filthy bitch." The tall boy's gloved hands reached into his pockets and pulled out a large bike chain. "Marco, Quinn, hold her!" His brown eyes gleamed with violence as the portly Mexican boy and a strong muscled black boy grabbed her from either side.

"STOP IT!" She screamed as the remaining boy shuffled through a pile of garbage and found a discarded table leg. Their thoughts were full of excitement at beating her to death and it frightened her to tears. "I didn't do anything!" She pleaded, squeezing her eyes shut as the tall leader prepared for his first hit.

With her eyes closed she heard a loud thump as the tall leader cried out in surprise. Her captures suddenly released their hold on her and she fell heavily to the floor. There were a few more loud thumps followed by some sickening crunching sounds and she opened her eyes just in time to see the green figure she had been protecting land heavily on the black boy's chest, causing her to cringe at the sickly crunch it caused.

_Please don't let me die! I swear I won't harm another fly!_

_I don't wanna die…!_

She could hear their voices in her head and she hated them. She pushed her hands hard against her ears and bit her lip until she tasted blood, desperate to make the pathetic, whining voices go away. Her wish was granted as two fell silent and the other two slowly faded. She failed to hear the last thud that granted her wish, or the hands that gripped her shoulders.

"Oi, lady, snap out of it!" Marlena shot her eyes open to be face to face to a green tinted man gently shaking her.

"I… They…" She muttered as all other voices seemed to fade away. "You saved me…?"

"It's just not right ta beat a woman. 'Sides, you didn't tell them where I was." His accent was unmistakably british and was strangely hypnotic to Marlena's ears. "Why'd you do it anyway?"

"I… I…" She reached up and ran her fingers through dirty, strawberry blonde hair. "You… Threatened me. I was afraid."

"What?" His eyes went wide as he let her go. "But… I-I never said anything! You…" A sudden shock of realization spread across his face and his mouth twisted into a devious grin. "You must be a mutant."

"A what?"

"A mutant. 'Aven't you ever 'eard of mutants before?" He laughed deep in his throat, taking a pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket and lighting one up. "Ya know, people born with super powers and the like."

"N-No…" She shook her head quickly, strands of matted hair falling in her face. She made a movement to swipe them away when she paused. "What… I-I have…! The voices… The voices have told me before!" She looked pleased with her recollection.

"Bloody 'ell! Wot a find! A telepath that ain't been found by Xavier and 'is X-Geeks. Magneto's gonna love this one." The stranger leaned in close to Marlena, his nose mere inches from her face. "'Ow would you like a nice warm place ta sleep tonight, luv?"


	2. Too Late

"This is it." Scott said with a frown as he turned into the alley way.

"This is horrible!" Jean exclaimed as she knelt down beside a body with a crushed skull. Three more lay nearby, looking as if they had been crushed to death. "Do you think our mutant did this?" She asked as she turned back to Scott.

"Not likely." He responded, shaking his head. "This looks more like Toad's work. Which means, as much as I hate to say it, that the Brotherhood may have gotten to the new mutant first." He sighed with frustration as he wiped his brow with the back of his hand. "Is there anything?" He asked Jean as he pulled a com link from his pocket.

"No, not a sign of anyone. Scott," Jean paused, biting her lip nervously. "These men died not too long ago. There still may be some residual imprints in their brains of what happened to them. I could see…"

"Jean, no. Don't you remember what happened when you sought to find what happened to that dog after it was killed? You nearly went insane with grief! I can't let that happen again." He shot her a stern look as he activated the com link. "Storm? This is Cyclops. We've found three dead men that seem to be crushed to death."

"_Any idea who was responsible?"_

"We believe it's Toad and we also think that he got to our mutant first." Scott dropped the communicator as Jean closed her eyes and reached out to one of the dead men. "Jean! Don't!" He dropped the com link as he lunged toward Jean, but he was too late to stop her from probing the memory residue of the man with the crushed skull.

"_Scott? Scott what's happening?"_

"They were looking for a mutant, a man with green skin and large brown eyes. He came down this alley but they lost him. There was a girl, a homeless girl. She was frightened, they liked that! They enjoyed that!" She shook her head and when she stopped she was facing a pile of garbage that seemed indented, as if a person had been sitting in it. "She wouldn't say where the green man went, so they were going to kill her instead. But… No! Stop! Please don't let me die!" She shot back from the body, falling into the indented pile of garbage. "I SWEAR I WON'T HURT ANOTHER FLY!"

"Jean!" Scott pulled her away from the man, holding her tightly as she screamed. "It's not you Jean! Those memories aren't you!" He ignored Storm's worried cries from the com link as he gently rocked Jean, running his fingers through her hair. "Shh, it's all right."

"Scott… He was being honest… If Toad had let him live this man would have never hurt anyone ever again." She brushed the tears off of her cheeks and looked up at Scott, trembling slightly.

"Toad wouldn't have cared. That man's a murderer plain and simple." He stood, gingerly helping Jean to her feet. "We need to let Storm know what to look for. Did you see our mutant? Do you think it's the girl?"

"Yes Scott, the girl is our mutant. She has strawberry blond hair and blue eyes so brilliant, I-I want to cry. There's such sadness in them, such pure and rare emotion!" She gasped, clutching onto Scott. "We have to save her."

Scott nodded, leaving Jean to stand on her own as he picked up his com link. "Storm? Send us the X-Jet. We're going after Toad."


	3. The Blackbird to The Rescue

**DISCLAIMER: Yay! Another chapter! I've got a new job where I basically sit and write all day. (I'm a receptionist… I answer the phone… Nothing much happens ALL DAY) So for those who read more than just this story, there are other chapters to almost ALL of them, they just need to be typed up and added on. I hope you enjoy this chapter, since it brings in every ones favorite fuzzy blue elf. **

Storm walked quickly through the lower levels of the Institute, adjusting her X-Men uniform. She walked quickly up to a circular door with a large X that slid open, much like many of the doors in the lower levels, allowing her to step past with out missing a beat. She glanced around briefly before approaching a large console covered with buttons, knobs, and sliders. With out hesitation, she pushed a button and held it.

"Kurt, I need your assistance. I will be shutting down your Danger Room exercise." With the turn and push of a few knobs and buttons, Storm watched the various offensive machinery whir to a halt. A few seconds latter there was a BAMF and the stench of brimstone. With it, appeared a furry, blue man with a tail, pointed ears, and glowing yellow eyes. He had every appearance of a demon.

"What is it, Ororo?" Kurt asked in a distinctly German accent.

"We are taking the X-Jet to pick up Jean and Scott. It seems that the Toad has found the mutant they were sent to find." With out waiting, she turned and walked back through the door, turned, and started walking further into the underground complex.

"Do we know what her powers are?" he asked seriously, mentally preparing for their mission. His tail, however, had no problems with slashing around behind him, betraying his anxiousness for some excitement.

"No." Ororo said, stepping through a slightly larger door and into the large hanger occupied by the X-Jet and a few other, smaller modes of transportation. "We do know what she looks like."

"How about her age?" Kurt asked as he followed her up the ramp and into the X-Jet.

Storm waited until they were both strapped in and the engine was warming up before she answered. "Jean said she looked about fourteen but couldn't be sure. She also made sure to mention that the child looked _very_ frightened."

Kurt nodded his head and pushed a dark blue button on the console. Almost immediately, the platform which the jet sat on began to turn and rise. Simultaneously, the basket ball court over head began to slide open, acting as the hanger door. An abandoned basket ball rolled down and bounced off of the X-Jet harmlessly. Nonetheless, Storm frowned in disapproval.

Storm looked deep in though and Kurt hated to disturb her, but he was in a talkative mood. "Her powers surely manifested at least a year ago. Why do you think it took so long for cerebro to find her?"

Storm looked at him, slightly startled by his question. "I don't know. I suppose it could be that when her powers first manifested, they weren't powerful enough."

Kurt was only mildly satisfied with her answer and was unwilling to leave it at that. "But when the Professor uses cerebro, he can find any mutant halfway around the world. Surely he would be able to find even a mutant of very low frequency right here in New York."

Storm sighed. "Of course, Kurt. You're right." She let him be right because she knew that id she let him, he would talk until the end of time with the mood he was in. Storm wasn't in the mood to talk. She was busy thinking up a plan of action. If the girl had gone with Toad willingly, they would have a harder time winning her back. If she were taken by force, they would have the simple task of defeating the Toad.

"I hope the girl's alright." Kurt said thoughtfully, staring out the thick front window. Storm nodded once and they spent the rest of the short trip in silence.


	4. Sincerity or Schemes?

**DISCLAIMER: Wow. It's been a while. Well, as always I don't own any original X-Men characters. That means Toad, Storm, Scott, etc. etc. you get the picture. Here comes chapter 4. I hope it was worth the oh... 4 year wait. =)**

He sat watching her rock back and forth, huddled in a corner of the small abandoned warehouse he had chosen to stop at. It was close to dawn (an hour or two at the most, he thought) and Toad knew that traveling during the day was nothing but suicide. He took a drag on his cigarette, grimacing as he realized it was already down to the butt. _I'll have to fitch some more soon... _He thought, tossing it away. He looked back to the girl, the young mutant he had found, and reclined a bit more against the wall he had chosen as his own resting place for the day.

"I don't know about you luv, but I'm beat. Think I'll catch some shut eye." Toad waited for her to reply, but she kept rocking, hands pressed tightly to her ears. Frowning, he pushed himself up and started rummaging through the trash left by the warehouse's previous renters. After only a few moments he found a short length of rope. Tugging on it to check it's strength he sauntered the short distance to the strawberry blond in the corner. "Just a precaution poppet. Don't want ya wanderin' off while I'm asleep. There's bad people out there." He crouched down and tied the length of rope first to her ankle, and then to his own. "There now."

Marlena looked up at him then, an almost far away look in her eyes. She seemed to be trying very hard to concentrate on something. "Thank you." She muttered, her voice a bit scratchy. "It's... It's been a long time since anyone's cared."

"Er..." Unsure what to do, Toad reached forward and tousled her hair. "Don't mention it. Our kind 'as to stick together." He sat back on his heels, resting his arms on his knees and cocking his head to the side. "Didn't get the chance to ask you before. What's your name, luv?"

She only stared at him for a moment, and Toad thought he might have lost her again before she finally blinked, licking her lips. "M-Marlena." She stammered. She took her hands away from her ears and rubbed her eyes with her fists. "Sometimes... Sometimes I forget." She whispered. "So many names go through my head. I... I don't know if they're talking to me or about me or if they even know I'm listening." When she looked back at him, she had tears welling in her eyes. "I just want it to stop."

Toad was definitely out of his element now. Cheering up crying young girls wasn't exactly something he did every day. Or ever for that matter. One thing was for sure though; Toad needed to keep her happy in order to keep her with him long enough to get her to Magneto. _'E's gonna flip 'is lid when I get back. A telepath! A bloody telepath! _"Now now luv. What you've got is something special." He grinned at her, trying his very best to come off as charming. "We just need to work on it a bit, eh?"

Not seeming very convinced, Marlena nodded. "Do all.... All mutants... Do they hear voices too?" She turned pleading eyes to him, hugging her arms around her shoulders. "Do you hear them?"

He leaned toward her, his grin widening, "Nah luv. That's what makes you the most special of all." As emphasis to this, he reached out a long greenish finger to bop the end of her nose. This earned him a small smile. "That's better then. No reason to frown anymore, eh? Soon you'll 'ave some nice new clothes and a warm, dry place to sleep." He settled himself against the wall next to her, since the rope no longer allowed him to sleep against the opposite wall. "Let's try and get some sleep now. We've got a lot of time to kill before we can get movin' again."

Sleep would have been very welcome indeed to Marlena, but right now there were just too much going on in her head. "I... I don't think I can." She said, half whispering as she pulled herself into a tighter ball. "There's too many... I can't drown them out. Some of them are really loud and others... Others..." She shivered then, squeezing her eyes shut and placing her hands against her ears once more. "Can... Can you talk to me some more? Just... Just for a while longer."

For a moment Toad had a hard time thinking of anything to say once she turned her pleading eyes to him. He supposed he'd never really looked into them since he'd found her. He couldn't remember ever thinking how dazzling they were. Closing his eyes, he shook his head slightly, concentrating on how pleased Magneto would be with him once he turned up with this little treasure. "Yeah... Yeah, sure luv. Anything I can do to 'elp. Just uh... Don't expect too much from me, alright?" He chuckled a bit, reaching for his pack of smokes in his jacket pocket. "Never been much for conversation." He frowned into the pack. "Damn... Last one." He crumpled up the empty pack and tossed it the short distance to the far wall.

Marlena furrowed her brows, watching as he lit the cigarette and took a slow pull on it. She'd ask him about that later. If she remembered, that is. Right now she had other questions that might distract her more. "Who's Magneto?"

The cigarette fell out of Toad's mouth as he coughed harshly and it was several moments before he was able to regain himself. "Well now... Guess I should 'ave seen that one coming. Not surprised you caught 'is name from my 'ead. Kind of pleased to know you can sort out which one of those voices is mine though." He puffed out his chest and squared his shoulders, looking quite proud. "Right flattered, I am."

"Why wouldn't I?" She asked, tilting her head as she looked at him. "It sounds just like your real voice. I... I don't know if that's the same for every one. But it is for you."

Toad looked thoughtful for a moment, taking a couple of short puffs from his cigarette. "That makes sense. Now, Magneto." His large brown eyes gleamed as he looked at her. "Magneto is the greatest man on Earth, and beyond that too. You see, 'e's working to make a world where you and I won't 'ave to 'ide out all day, only goin' around at night and with our tails between our legs even then." He leaned closer to her, caught up in the greatness of his Master. "When Magneto's done with the world, we'll be respected. We'll be in charge. And it's only right. You know what we're classified as?" He paused a moment for her answer, which turned out to be a small shake of her head. "Homo Superior we are. We're better 'cause we have our gifts. We ain't mundane like 'umans are."

"But... But humans will still have their place, right? They'll be treated fairly, won't they?" Marlena dropped her face, staring at her knees and thinking of her parents. They were human and suddenly she couldn't help but worry about them. It had been over a year since she ran away. They didn't understand when she started hearing voices, thinking she had gone mad and wanted to put her in a hospital. Somewhere they swore would be able to help her. But she wasn't crazy. At least, she hadn't thought so at the time. As the months passed and she wandered further and further from her home, she had to wonder though. She had never heard anything about mutants before and once it was obvious the voices weren't just going to up and leave, she thought that maybe she really was crazy. She had been nursing thoughts of returning home and letting her parents do what they thought was best when the voices first mentioned mutants. She wasn't aware that she was a mutant, but it gave her hope.

"Wha..?" Toad was thrown off again. He hadn't been paying a whole lot of attention to what he was saying, thrilled as he was to be explaining Magneto's plan for a world ruled by mutants. He had never even considered that she might be concerned for the pathetic humans he loathed. "Of course they will be. We couldn't enslave them all or anything like that. There are too bloody many of 'em." His grin disappeared as Marlena paled and a look of horror swept over her face. "Oi luv... I was just kidding. Magneto wouldn't do nothing to anyone who doesn't deserve it. 'E's a fair man, Magneto."

After a moment, Marlena nodded and Toad was thrilled that she believed him. Though he hadn't really lied to her; not on purpose anyway. Toad truly believed that anything Magneto ordered done to the humans they deserved. He wanted nothing more than to see the whole lot of them slaughtered, but he was very careful not to think so. He watched her lean back against the wall and slowly close her eyes. He couldn't help but wonder how she would look once she was cleaned up. He hair was too tangled and matted, her face too smudged with dirt and grime, it was hard to tell.

With her eyes closed, she continued to ask questions about Magneto and what his plans were. Toad answered each one carefully, and with as many details as he felt he could give until eventually the questions stopped coming. He looked over at her, watching her chest slowly rise and fall. _Looks like I did my job, _he thought. _Well, that's all for the best. Think I'll get some shut eye myself. _ He pulled one knee towards his chest and, wrapping his arm around it, rested his head on top. In only a matter of moments, he too drifted off to sleep.


End file.
